Life360 location not updating on iPhone: how to fix it

When one person in a Life360 Circle stops moving on the map, the cause is almost always on that person’s phone. Life360 can only show what the phone sends, and iOS stops sending when a permission, a battery setting, or the connection gets in the way. Do the checks below on the phone that is stuck, not on the phone that is looking at it.

Step 1: Permissions

Life360 needs more access than most apps, because it reports your location while it is closed. Its permission settings guide lists what iPhone needs.

1. Go to Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services, Life360. Choose Always, and turn on Precise Location.
2. Go to Settings, Privacy & Security, Motion & Fitness. Allow Life360. It uses motion data to know when you start a drive.
3. Go to Settings, General, Background App Refresh. Turn it on, and turn it on for Life360.

The most common fault is While Using the App instead of Always. With that setting, the map updates only when the person opens Life360, and stays still the rest of the day.

Step 2: Battery settings

Low Power Mode cuts background activity, and location updates are among the first things to slow down. Life360’s own location accuracy guide recommends turning it off.

• Turn off Low Power Mode in Settings, Battery, or from Control Center.
• Do not swipe Life360 away in the app switcher. A force-quit app does not run in the background until you open it again.
• Open Life360 every few days. Life360 says the app can go into a sleep state when it is not opened for a while.

Step 3: Connection

The phone can know exactly where it is and still fail to send it. Life360 recommends these settings in the same accuracy guide:

• Wi-Fi on and Airplane Mode off.
• A good cellular data connection, with Life360 allowed in Settings, Cellular.
• Low Data Mode off, so Data Mode is set to allow more data.
• No VPN, car Wi-Fi hotspot, or phone hotspot, which Life360 says interfere.
• No other parental control or security apps that filter traffic.

Step 4: Account and device

• One device per account. Life360 says to be logged in on one device at a time. If the account is also signed in on an old phone or a tablet, the map can follow that device.
• Update the app. Install the latest version from the App Store.
• Restart. Turn the phone off for a few seconds and back on, then open Life360 and tap Check In to force a fresh location.

If it is still stuck

Check whether the problem is the phone or Life360. Open Apple Maps on the stuck phone and tap the location arrow. If Maps is also wrong, the phone itself cannot get a fix, and the general checks in iPhone location not updating apply. If Maps is right and Life360 is wrong, log out of Life360, restart, log back in, and contact Life360 support.

One more cause: if a location simulator was used on the phone and not stopped, Life360 shows the simulated spot. Stop it in the tool and restart the iPhone. See how to restore your real iPhone location.

Common questions

Why does Life360 update only when I open the app?

Location access is set to While Using the App, or Background App Refresh is off. Set location to Always and turn Background App Refresh on for Life360.

Why does Life360 show a different place than Find My?

They are different apps, each with its own update timing and its own sharing device. Find My can share from an iPad or an Apple Watch. Life360 follows whichever device is logged in to the account. See Find My showing the wrong location for the Find My side.

Will my Circle notice if I change these settings?

Life360 can show Circle members that a person’s location sharing is off or that location permissions are missing, so expect them to see a change. If you want to stop sharing, use Life360’s own controls, which make that clear to your Circle.

Does the phone model matter?

Older phones with worn batteries go into power saving more often, and that slows updates. The settings above matter more than the model.